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When we last visited Austin-based TrackingPoint in August, the company was keen to show off some as-yet-unnamed preproduction wearable technology that was still in development. At the time, this took the form of a somewhat difficult-to-see Android-powered screen mounted on some ski goggles. The tech mirrored the image on a TrackingPoint Precision Guided Firearm directly into your eye, enabling the weapon’s user to do some fancy "no-look" shots.

The wheel has turned, and a few months later, the goggles have evolved into a set of sleek sunglasses with a new name: ShotGlass.

ShotGlass has kept its Android-powered core, but it has gained quite a few features from the prototype model we used a few months back. In addition to being able to display and record the output of the rifle’s scope (transmitted via Wi-Fi), ShotGlass has its own microphone and forward-facing camera to record what the wearer sees and hears. When added to the rifle’s own audio and visual recordings, ShotGlass has the potential to capture a considerable amount of information about each and every shot taken.

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The device itself operates in "WQVGA" resolution (in this case, 428x240, an approximately 16:9 aspect ratio), and TrackingPoint’s press materials describe the screen as appearing approximately the size and resolution of a 30-inch HD display when worn. This matches up with how the pre-production version appeared in my field of view back in August. Unlike Google Glass, ShotGlass features controls designed to be manipulated with gloves on.

After initially shying away from formalized involvement with the Department of Defense, TrackingPoint has embraced both government and law enforcement as potential revenue streams with its newer products. Although the press release for the ShotGlass highlights the device’s training and mentoring abilities—letting an experienced shooter observe and direct the scope picture of a student shooter, for example—it also highlights the potential role the technology could play during a firefight. "In battle, a spotter wears ShotGlass™ to direct their sniper to the desired target in real-time under high battle stress," it reads.

Enlarge/ TrackingPoint's (relatively) low-cost 5.56 mm NATO AR. You'll need one of these (any of TrackingPoint's ARs will do) to use ShotGlass.

It’s unsurprising that futuristic technology will make its way to the military and to law enforcement, even though the products we’ve demoed so far are still too heavy and fragile to bear up to the "soldier test" (any piece of equipment fielded by the military needs to be particularly rugged to put up with the notorious amount of abuse dished out by soldiers on deployment). As explained on our last range trip, the inbuilt audio and visual recording elements are of particular interest to law enforcement, giving solid documentation of every shot taken with the rifles. As such, TrackingPoint has shown its AR rifles to at least 70 law enforcement organizations across the country.

Along with ShotGlass, the company also announced today that its 5.56 NATO-chambered AR carbine will be selling for $7,495—half of the price of its larger-caliber 7.62 mm big brother. Through the end of November, the company will be bundling a free ShotGlass in with rifle purchases. On its own, ShotGlass will run users $995. Out of the box, ShotGlass is only compatible with TrackingPoint’s Precision Guided Firearms, but with its Android-powered internals, it might also make a nifty (if somewhat conspicuous) general purpose head-mounted display.

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Lee Hutchinson
Lee is the Senior Technology Editor at Ars and oversees gadget, automotive, IT, and gaming/culture content. He also knows stuff about enterprise storage, security, and human space flight. Lee is based in Houston, TX. Emaillee.hutchinson@arstechnica.com